


easy if we lift each other

by maybemaybenottt



Series: Eddie Diaz Week 2021 [3]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Eddie Diaz Week 2021, Gen, I don't know how to tag this, i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29824851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybemaybenottt/pseuds/maybemaybenottt
Summary: “Yeah, well-” Eddie grunts as he pushes aside another rock to look underneath it. “I’m pretty damn good at my job.”-Eddie week day 3 -"We're getting out of this."+ competence.
Series: Eddie Diaz Week 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188956
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	easy if we lift each other

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Hey Girl by Lada Gaga.
> 
> I genuinely don't know what this is. I wrote it all at midnight last night. Enjoy though.

There’s a ringing in his ears, water rising around his ankles, a chill seeping into his bones, and Eddie can’t keep his mind off of the past.

It closes in around him as suddenly as the darkness does, echoing around in his head as the sounds of chaos from just moments before settle into silence. He shivers as the all-too-familiar cold burrows itself deep within him. Hopes the shake will brush away the memories weighing down on his shoulders. 

It doesn’t.

He rises from his crouching position and looks around, trying to let his present surroundings set in and bring him back from his mind. Eyes adjusting to the sudden change of light, he can just barely make out the shape of the man he’d been trying to help -Jack, he said his name was- lying in the corner. As his ears clear, he can hear him too, calling out in pained gasps. 

Eddie rushes towards the sound, fumbling for his flashlight. The beam passes over Jack’s body as he approaches, revealing a large boulder pinning down his left leg. Eddie grimaces. Drops to his side to inspect it more closely.

“Hey, it’s alright man, I’m here.”

Eddie’s radio crackles to life on his shoulder, and Bobby’s voice comes through, echoing in the cavern.

_“Eddie do you copy?”_

“I’m here, Cap.” He squints towards the opening where the daylight had been coming in just a few moments ago, and all he’s met with is darkness. “What the hell happened?”

_“Something must have shifted after Buck got out with the woman. A pile of rocks collapsed and blocked the entrance to the cave.”_

“Great,” Jack mumbles.

_“We’re doing our best to try and clear it from out here. Check on our victim and sit tight, we’re coming to you.”_

“Better make it quick, Cap. We’ve got water coming in pretty fast.”

_“We’re working as quickly as we can.”_

Eddie sighs. “Copy that.”

“Tough luck,” Jack says. “Getting stuck down here with me after your friend got out without a scratch.”

“Yeah, well,” Eddie says, inspecting the boulder to work out the best way to lift it. “Rather me than him.”

Jack raises his eyebrows. “I was gonna say the same thing about my girlfriend.”

Eddie doesn’t respond to that. Instead, shines his flashlight around the cavern to look for something to use as leverage to free Jack’s leg. 

“You know-” Jack raises his head slightly. “I was gonna propose today.”

“Oh yeah?” Eddie says, not tearing his eyes from his search. 

“Yep. Two year anniversary of our first date.” 

“Big milestone.”

He laughs sadly. “Shame I might not make it.”

Eddie looks back at him, and his eyes are full of a morbid kind of certainty. Acceptance, almost. “You will,” Eddie says, and hopes his voice sounds more certain than he feels. “We’re getting out of here.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Jack cranes his head to look around. “But this water is rising pretty quickly and I’m not exactly in the best position to swim.” 

Eddie looks down at the water, slowly submerging Jack further and further. He jumps up to continue his search for something -anything- to help him with this rock. He sweeps his light along the walls of the cave, squinting to see better in the darkness. 

“You’ll be fine. I just need to get you out from under there.”

Jack lets out a hoarse laugh. “You’ve sure got a lot of confidence.”

“Yeah, well-” Eddie grunts as he pushes aside another rock to look underneath it. “I’m pretty damn good at my job.”

He hears shouts of familiar voices from the other side of the blockage -getting closer, but not fast enough. Looking down at the water swelling around his feet, he decides that this is something he’s going to have to do on his own.

“Alright, Jack-” He rushes back to his side, no time left to waste. The water has nearly reached Jack’s chin now, and it’s not slowing down. “I’m gonna have to lift this off of you, and when I do, I need you to pull yourself out from under it.”

Jack’s eyes widen. “I can’t.”

“You can.” Then; “You have to. I can’t do both at the same time, so I need you to help me out, okay?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not strong enough.”

“You are. Trust me, you’ve got a lot more strength in you than you think.” Eddie places his hands under the boulder, getting ready to lift. “What’s your girlfriend’s name, Jack?” 

“Marcie,” he chokes out.

“Do it for Marcie, Jack. Think about the life you’re gonna have together, all the things you have yet to experience, and do it for her.”

Quietly, Jack asks, “Do you have a special someone, Eddie?”

“I have a son -Christopher, he’s ten. And thinking about him has gotten me through situations just like this. He’s my driving force -the thing that makes me fight to get home every day.” He locks his eyes on Jack’s. “Let Marcie be the same for you.”

Jack squeezes his eyes shut, nodding. 

“Okay. On three.” Eddie readies himself. “One, two, three!”

Eddie lifts. Puts all of his strength into it and prays that it’ll last. Listens as Jack screams, pulling himself and his crushed leg free, gasping in pain as he flops back against the wall behind him.

Eddie drops the boulder, breathing heavily. Lowers himself down into the space next to Jack and helps him get propped up away from the water. “You did it. See? Easy.”

Jack lets out a tearful, exhausted laugh. Then, his face settles into something more serious. “Thank you,” he says.

“It’s what I’m here for.”

Not long after that, daylight washes over them, creeping in as the opening is cleared, and it feels like a beacon. Hope, relief, and gratitude wash over them with it, and Eddie is finally able to let himself breathe.

He turns to Jack. “Told you we’d make it out.”

Jack just smiles gratefully. 

\---

Six months later, Eddie receives a wedding invitation in the mail with a note attached. 

_Made it to that milestone, and many others, because of you._

_P.S. Bring your special someone. Seems like I’ve got a lot to thank him for too._

**Author's Note:**

> [come chat with me on tumblr! @deareddie](https://deareddie.tumblr.com/)


End file.
